Month: July 2017

10 plastic items you can easily cut out of your life

Humans produce 300 million tonnes of plastic per year – 5 million tonnes of which ends up in our oceans. This is a huge, worldwide issue that isn’t going to go away, and so it’s time we all made a change. The use of plastic is mainly habitual, and so by breaking our usual daily habits and making new ones, we can make a real difference, one step at a time. Below are 10 plastic items you could easily cut out of your life, with the minimal fuss. Why not start by eliminating these items and see where you end up?

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Presence of ‘beacon’ litter causes more litter

A study conducted by Keep Britain Tidy’s Centre for Social Innovation has found that the presence of large and brightly coloured litter leads to further littering by others, as people feel it must be socially acceptable in the area they are in. The research also showed that if an area is free from this bold litter, it is less likely that people will litter there.

The research

The ‘Beacons of Litter’ social experiment was conducted in two locations: Stourbridge in the West Midlands and Stoke Newington in north-east London. Within each location, three areas were cleaned up; one area was kept clean, one had ‘beacon’ items planted in it (large/brightly coloured litter), and one had smaller items of litter planted in it, such as small pieces of paper and tissues.

All of the areas were then monitored for litter and human behaviour regarding litter, with observations in this study totalling 72 hours. The experiment was conducted six times within a two-week time period at each location.

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